Sharks' Marty Havlat expected to play in Game 3

SAN JOSE -- Forward Marty Havlat is expected to be back in the Sharks lineup tonight for the first time since the opening game of the playoffs.

"There's a good chance he'll play," Coach Todd McLellan said after his team's morning skate. "He's come to see me, he thinks he's ready to go so we'll find a spot for him."

Havlat has been out of action since midway through the first period of Game 1 of the Sharks sweep of the Vancouver Canucks. Replays showed Canucks defenseman Kevin Bieksa striking Havlat in the groin area with a stick on his final shift, but Havlat later said that was not the cause of the lower body injury he suffered.

McLellan said it was too soon to say exactly what impact Havlat's return would have on his forward line combinations.

Havlat, 32, is known as a strong playoff performer with 52 points in 73 career postseason games.